More Pine Hills Stories: My Corner, by Michael J. Sheehan Jr.

My universe during the 1930s and 40s centered on the corner of Morris and Partridge Streets in Albany. Those were the “Big Depression” years, but we didn’t know it as pre-teens and early teenagers because everyone seemed to be enjoying life as it was at that time.

We had the luxury of a corner grocery store right next door to us owned by Ida and Jake Milstein, a SUPER meat market owned by Emil Meister on Ontario Street, between Morris and Myrtle Avenue, a GREAT ice cream and candy store, La Franks, on Ontario, right across from the Vincentian Institute (VI). I was lucky enough to attend VI for twelve years which was within walking distance of my home. On Madison Avenue was the FAMOUS Joe’s Delicatessen across the street from Stackmen’s News Store where we would buy our latest comic books. There were also two barber shops, a wonderful bakery called Hagamann’s (which had horse and wagon delivery service) near Partridge Street across from our Church, St. Vincent de Paul. And we had our very own MOVIE house called The Madison near South Main, with a KARMELKORN store right next door.

The nearby Ridgefield Park, operated by the YMCA, provided a place to play all kinds of ball games. There were clay tennis courts there for “Y” members, and Albany High played their football games there before Bleecker Stadium was completed under the WPA program.

There was no need to leave “our universe,” but the Whitehall/Partridge Street bus and the Madison Avenue Trolley #4 were 10¢ a ride and could transport us to Albany’s “Times Square” at State and Pearl to go to 1st Run Movies at the Strand, the Palace or the Grand or to visit “wonder” store like Woolworths and Kresges.

We played all kinds of games in the street because auto traffic was minimal. Games like, tag, capture the flag, hide and seek, street tennis touch football, “dodge the ball,” and just “race around the block” contests kept us busy to dark. The streets were paved with bricks, and the sidewalks were large 3’ x 4’ slabs of blue-grey slate which were great for drawing on in chalk, and what noise you made on roller skates. In summer, I recall the slate sidewalk got so hot that the Times Union sent a reporter to fry an egg on the sidewalk in front of Milstein’s store. In winter, we trekked down to Washington Park to ice skate. You could check your shoes in the lake house and get hot chocolate there.

Sometimes we would dare to “leave our corner” to visit “Indian Joe.” He lived in a Stagecoach alongside the walls of the cloistered convent on New Scotland Avenue (now Maria College). That was like travelling to a foreign country for us. Nowadays, you would be fearful of someone looking like “Joe,” but he was not a threat to us. He would travel through the neighborhoods selling his “homemade” REAL INDIAN things like bows and arrows and small bark canoes.

Everyone had little jobs then to earn spending money. My first jobs were selling candy bars and Liberty Magazine, running errands, delivering newspapers to 30 of LaFranks’ stores regular customers or Mr. LaFranks’ nightly “hot supper” from his home on the corner of Myrtle and Ontario for 50¢ a week. Using my hard-earned money, I would treat myself to a Hosler’s Ice Cream Shake at LaFranks’. Then I got a BIG job, a paper route for the evening Knickerbocker News, for over 100 customers, including Mayor John Boyd Thacher. If you were lucky, on Saturday morning, you got a delivery route for the Madison Theatre for their circulars to earn a free pass to the movies all week. Movies were only 10¢ then. But Saturday afternoon was kids day, lots of cartoons and serial adventure movies (cowboys, Superman, etc.).

Michael Joseph Sheehan, Jr. in his VI band uniform for the Armistice Day Parade in 1942.

As I entered the VI high school, my circle of friends extended “beyond my corner,” to classmates living “around the corner” on Myrtle Avenue and even beyond. I joined the VI band, and I especially recall going by train to NYC in 1939 to march in the Albany Day Parade at the World’s Fair. During football season, the band would assemble at the corner of Madison and Ontario to collect the VI students from the Pep Rally before each game and march up Morris Street to “serenade” the nuns at their convent which was just above Partridge Street. Then we would parade all the way on Partridge Street to Bleecker Stadium to attend the football game and provide “half time” maneuvers (à la Notre Dame, from where our instructor Brother Pierre had graduated).

5 Responses

Michael, you may be able to help me with a recollection. I’m probably a good 20 years behind you, but I seem to recall a weekly radio broadcast on Saturday mornings from the Madison Theater. Since I did not live in that neighborhood, I think my older sister took me there once to see what they did on the stage during the broadcast. I believe there were children in the audience and some were brought up on stage for games or prizes. If you or anyone else could describe this event, or tell me if I’m dreaming, I’d appreciate it.

Things had not changed all that much by the 60′s. We lived on Myrtle between Ontario and Partridge. Milstein’s became a drug store, we got our dogs at Meisters, they lived upstairs, the other brother lived on Partridge, played the same games in the street, including football, despite the cars. Mrs Calahan would call the police if we hit the wires with the ball, it made her lights go off and on. Madison, 50 cents on Saturday for the movies. Clapp’s book store next to the theater. Coles market on Myrtle and Ontario, Glatz’s on Partridge and Morris. I guess we did have the A&P and the Paladium Bowling Alley on Ontrario and Park. The area doesn’t look like that now.

i lived in the area in the early “60′s and went to the Madison constantly. I do not remember and such radio event. i used to go to the madison every week for horror flicks. this would be from 60-64. funny thing is, i have had many turns in my life, but i moved to Kent St in the early 60′s, N. Allen in ’63-64; Madison in mid ’70′s, Mercer in late70′s, Morris in 80′s and now on Manning. All within a few blocks of where i was born Brady Hospital (now St. Catherines on Main St.) Something continues to draw me back. I used to serve mass at St Anne’s and Blessed Sacrament. one of my buddies was Tony Pallucci (who’s dad owned the Courtesy Mart on N. Allen). Kelly’s Drug Store on Kent and N. Allen, Mr. Rankin was the pharmacist and Mary Bell was the clerk. There was a small diner on N.Allen just below Bradford, where on cold winter days I’s spend my last dollar on a big plate of french fires and a steaming cup of hot cocoa. I can’t remember the name of the diner but it was owned by a great guy who was from Italy, if i remember correctly.

Great story -
I have fond memories of visiting my grandparents who lived on Morris St.
It was a real treat going to the corner on Morris St and Partridge Sts
and getting penny candy and browsing through all the other “treasures” found in the store.